Study Finds Overactive Bladder to be Common and Severe in Women With Fibromyalgia: Study

A new study published in the journal of Neurourology and Urodynamics revealed a long-overlooked connection between fibromyalgia (FM) and urinary health, revealing that overactive bladder (OAB) is both common and clinically significant among women living with the chronic pain disorder.

Until now, the prevalence and impact of OAB in this population have remained poorly defined. This research was set out to clarify this relationship by comparing women with fibromyalgia to non-fibromyalgia controls who reported similar urinary complaints.

The cross-sectional controlled study included 232 women between the ages of 18 and 65. Of these, 192 had a confirmed diagnosis of fibromyalgia, while 40 served as age- and symptom-matched controls without FM. Overactive bladder was diagnosed using internationally accepted criteria from the International Continence Society, which combined results from the Overactive Bladder Awareness Tool (OAB-V8) and a three-day bladder diary.

Almost, two-thirds (62 percent) of women with fibromyalgia met the criteria for OAB, when compared to just 28.6 percent of the control group. This significant difference highlights OAB as a frequent comorbidity in FM rather than a background condition seen equally across populations.

Women with both fibromyalgia and OAB also showed a more severe clinical profile. They were older on average and had lived with fibromyalgia for a longer time than those without OAB. Measures of fibromyalgia severity, including the Widespread Pain Index, Symptom Severity Scale, and General Symptom Score, were all substantially higher in the FM-plus-OAB group. These scores reflected not only pain distribution but also fatigue, sleep problems, and cognitive symptoms, which indicated a heavier overall symptom burden.

This study showed that women with fibromyalgia and OAB fared worse than controls with OAB alone. This suggests that the presence of fibromyalgia amplifies the severity of urinary symptoms and their impact. Psychiatric comorbidities such as anxiety and depression, along with irritable bowel syndrome and obesity, were also more common in women experiencing both conditions.

Correlation analyses revealed a moderate but consistent relationship between OAB symptoms and fibromyalgia severity scores. In practical terms, this means that as fibromyalgia symptoms intensified, urinary symptoms tended to worsen as well. Overall, the findings support the idea that OAB in fibromyalgia may represent another expression of central sensitization, where the nervous system becomes overly responsive to stimuli.

Reference:

Kurtulus, D., Arkan, K., Suceken, F. Y., Akgol, S., & Can, B. (2025). Assessment of overactive bladder in women with fibromyalgia presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms: A controlled clinical study. Neurourology and Urodynamics, nau.70206. https://doi.org/10.1002/nau.70206